


time your every breath

by monsterball



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Post-War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-05-12 23:57:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5686570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monsterball/pseuds/monsterball
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>and the beat goes on. post-war, NejiTen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. to the rhythm of your voice

**Author's Note:**

> This will probably be a collection of post-war drabbles where our ninja teen is alive and kickin' as a ninja adult doing all the things that...actually resolves his character arc in proper, lol. Also nejiten is the original OTP for me, what can i say. Hope you like it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and here he is, lying awake in the soft comforters of her bed, slightly anxious, but simply wondering.

He blinks awake, fingers resting lightly on her hip grip just a fraction tighter. Most nights she is out like a log, blankets wrapped around her like a cocoon, but not tonight, it seems. She stirs awake, turning over so that she’s facing him and she blinks awake. _Is something wrong?_  
  


He reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and she blinks at him in confusion. _Nothing_ , he says. _I just…_  
  


It is in moments like these where he can’t help but wonder sometimes, just how she does it. How, with his cryptic words in these uncharacteristically inefficient moments, she knows what he means. He supposes that it has to do with years of partnership, years of going on missions together, but he has a feeling that it’s much more than that. A soft look reaches her eyes, as she gently laces her fingers through his. It had been four—seven—nine months since he woke in that hospital with her and Lee exhaling (the latter much more dramatic) in relief, and it still feels surreal: in the past nine months he watched his cousin get married, watched his peers fall in love and _also_ get married, watched himself (still watching) tiptoe around that thing they call love, and here he is, lying awake in the soft comforters of _her_ bed, slightly anxious, but simply wondering.  
  


_It’s okay,_ she says, teasing. _You were never very good with words anyways._  
  


He snorts, the corner of his mouth turning upward into a small smirk. _You always say that._  
  


_Because it’s true,_ she says, laughing softly. _But that’s alright, I’ve learned how to read you like a book after years of dealing with you._  
  


He has a comeback at the tip of his tongue, but he pauses, and takes in the way she looks: long hair curling and framing her face, white moonlight glancing off her shoulders, and eyes crinkling at the corners in small, quiet happiness. And he can’t help himself, as he leans forward and slants his mouth over hers, softly, gently, breath catching as he feels her smile and reach up to pull him a little closer.  
  


_I’ve always been more of an ‘actions’ person, anyways,_ he says, as he wraps his arm around her waist.  
  


She laughs in agreement, tucking herself against his chest. He closes his eyes, listening to the quiet evening air, and the rhythm of her breathing, the feel of her arms around his waist and their bodies warm beneath the blankets, and falls asleep with a content smile on his face.


	2. at the corner of your heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She spies the many messages and sighs with fond exasperation. “Sorry,” she laughs apologetically. “My dork of a husband is having trouble at home."

She takes a deep breath, relishing the smell of clean air, the metal of her precious kunai on its display shelf, and the fresh sunflowers that he brought for her the other day. _(I thought it’d make for good company,_ he explained, when she came home from the shop. _When I’m not there._ She blinked, surprised at his gesture, and broke into a soft smile.)

Business had been somewhat slow these past couple of days, understandably since the world is so peaceful now. She chuckles at the thought; it didn’t bother her, nor did it ever bother him, because that’s what they fought for, isn’t it? For this kind of peace, to not be on edge at the slightest things, to not fall asleep dreaming of bloodstains and fear. She watches a young girl run past the shop kunai in hand, a friend chasing after her, and Tenten smiles.  


Her phone buzzes. She checks the message with a glance.  


_Ryuu is being fussy. What do I do.  
_

She snorts. Ryuu is the calmer of the two siblings; if anything, it was their little girl that would be waving kunai around (to Tenten’s delight and Neji’s chagrin), or pestering to braid her father’s hair.  
 

 _I thought you knew ‘everything,’_ she texts back, a grin on her face.

 

_…I see you won’t let me live that one down._

_Nope. Anyway, try to lull him to sleep. He sleeps easy, remember?_

“Tenten-san!” She looks up to see two young girls walk in.  
  
“Hello!” she greets with a smile as she flips her phone over. “What can I do for you today? How are the fuuma shuriken holding up?”  
  
“They’re great!” the older one responds. “I hit my target with perfect aim yesterday—the tip you provided really helped, thank you!”  
  
Tenten smiles. “I’m glad. Is there anything you need today?”  
  
“Yeah! We were wondering if you had any senbon needles in sto—“ Tenten’s phone buzzes repeatedly, insistently. She spies the many messages and sighs with fond exasperation. “Sorry,” she laughs apologetically. “My dork of a husband is having trouble at home. But—yes, let me get those for you!”  
  
The younger of the two girls smiles. “He still sounds very reliable, Tenten-san.” The older one laughs. “Yeah! Especially since he’s staying at home taking care of your kids, right?”  


Something soft touches the corner of her heart, and Tenten smiles softly. “Yeah. Yeah, he is. He’s a good man.” She pulls out a packet of senbon needles and the older of the two girls yells in excitement at the sight of them. They pay her happily and wave good-bye as they walk out the door  
  
Tenten flips her phone over and scrolls through a series of messages:

 

_It worked._

_But now Keiko is running around with your scrolls and_

_A;sldkfja;H I MAMM a!!!!!_

_Sorry. That was her._

  
  
_She seems to have calmed down_  


  
_….I spoke too soon. When are you coming home?_  


  
Tenten snorted. _I can close shop early if you’re really that desperate. Why don’t you ask Hinata?  
_

_  
She’s at a clan meeting; Naruto’s out of the country for Hokage duty._

 

_Can you give me an hour?_

_Ok. I’ll. Do my best._

She laughs at his last message and flips her phone closed, as an elderly lady walks in. “Hello! How may I help you today?”  


\---

   
Tenten slowly slides open the compound door. _I don’t hear anything,_ she notes, though she knows from experience to keep her guard up anyway.  _What are they up to?_ She takes her shoes off and slips on a pair of slippers, drops her bag at the front and rounds the corner over to the living room. “Neji? Are you—“  
  
She stops abruptly at the sight before her. Neji is asleep on the couch, Ryuu in one arm, Keiko curled up on his lap, and the afternoon light dancing across the couch and onto their sleeping forms. He looks exhausted, but she can see the tiny smile at the corner of his lips, can see the gentleness in the way his hands fall loosely upon the children, and she feels something strange prickle at her eyes.  
  
( _“Tenten I…”_  
  
_She looks up from the book she’s reading. She and Lee made it a point to visit him at least once a day at the hospital, while he recovers, but more often than not she finds herself there constantly. “Hm?_  
  
  
_There’s a look in his eyes that she can’t quite place—affection? Adoration? An apology in there, maybe? He reaches out, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thank you,” he utters softly._  


_Something strange swells in her chest—when did he become so--gentle? She smiles, softly, fully, closes her book, and rests her hand on top of his.)_

She lifts her phone up and takes a picture, waiting for the telltale tiny _click_. Neji stirs slightly and his arm wraps around the two kids just a fraction tighter. She walks over and plants a light kiss on his forehead, chuckling to herself as she heads to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you my dear @matchaball for helping me edit this! Sorry it took me forever to upload, ha ha ha... 
> 
> Smol son Ryuu is my creation, and talk shit get hit daughter Keiko is @papabay's (tumblr). Also, Neji is at home for the time being to recover, landing him babysitting duties.


End file.
